I've heard great things about most of the doctors here, however my recent experience with Dr. Alison Harper/Gonsalves (people refer to her as "Dr. G") was pretty sub-par.
I took in my dog for his per... Read More
I've heard great things about most of the doctors here, however my recent experience with Dr. Alison Harper/Gonsalves (people refer to her as "Dr. G") was pretty sub-par.
I took in my dog for his periodic general check up and some booster shots. Dr. G came off as very nice, but the $25 general wellness exam consisted of her listening to his heart for about five seconds, then asking ME if I though anything was wrong with him. Nothing more. She didn't even seem to notice the large allergenic rash on his stomach until I pointed it out.
She then brought out a syringe and stated that we were going to do a test for heartworms. I asked if the test cost anything, as he was already on a heartworm preventative, to which she replied "If the test comes out positive, Trifexis will pay for the treatment", which I took to mean that the test was free or nearly so. A few minutes later, the test results came out as negative, as expected, and the appointment was over. Total time Dr. G spent with my dog was probably less than 15 minutes, and I was kinda surprised when I was told the appointment was over already, as I felt hardly anything had actually been done as far as the wellness exam, and in hindsight I should have said something about it right then and there.
I stepped out to the waiting room to pay for the visit, only to find that the heartworm test that I hadn't really wanted to do in the first place, and was lead to believe wasn't an extra charge with Dr. G's dodge of an answer, actually cost $25 dollars. I told the clerk that Dr. G didn't say that it actually cost anything when I asked about the price, and that I hadn't even asked for it in the first place, and nicely asked if it could be removed from the bill. The clerk stepped around the corner into the back room where I heard her talking to Dr. G (who apparently couldn't be bothered to step around the corner and talk to me herself) and came back a minute later and said it had to stay on the bill because the test had already been "performed" (I'd like to point out that the entire test merely requires a few drops of blood to be drawn, then dropped onto a disposable tab that then indicates positive or negative. There's no labwork or anything, and the whole thing was done on the exam room table in a matter of minutes, most of which were spent just waiting for the tablet react and indicate yes or no.) After calmly arguing for a minute and getting no where, I decided to cut my losses and just pay the bill and go to a different vet next time.
I left feeling like I'd just been swindled, and worst off, like my dog didn't actually get a proper examination.
Of my ~$100 bill for that day, $50 of it was for a superfluous test that I didn't even ask for, and for Dr. G to spend all of five seconds listening to my dog's heart.
After mentioning my regretful experience to my friend that had originally recommended Kendall County Vet to me, she told me that she'd had similar experiences on several occasions with Dr. G, and that she now specifically requests to not be scheduled with her when setting up appointments.
Again, this review only concerns Dr. Alison Harper/Gonsalves ("Dr. G"), I can't speak for the other veterinarians at this center. Read Less